Adjustable clothes-prop.



No 866,199. PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1 90 7.' H. H. HAAS.

' ADJUSTABLE CLOTHES PROP.

' APPLICATION rmm MAR. 23, 1907.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADJUSTABLE CLOTHES-PROP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1'7, 190?.

Application filed March 23, 1907. Serial No. 364,187.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD HINTON HAAS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Palo Alto, in the county of Schuylkill and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Adjustable Clothes-Prop, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in adjustable clothes props.

The object of, the present invention is to improve the construction ofadjustable clothes props, and to provide a simple, inexpensive andeilicient clothes prop having an adjustable or extensible section,adapted to be readily raised and lowered, and capable of being quicklyand securely locked at any adjustment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a locking device adaptedto permit the adjustable section to slide freely, and capable ofgripping the same a without injuring the adjustable section.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claimshereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form,proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope ofthe claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing :Figure 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable clothesprop, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is anenlarged longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the clothes prop,illustrating the manner of slidably connecting and locking the sections.Fig. 3 is a similar view, the locking device being disengaged from theadjustable section. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View, takensubstantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a similar view, takensubstantially on the line 55 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a detail perspectiveview of the upper end of the lower section of the clothes prop.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawing.

10 and 11 designate upper and lower slidably connected clothes propmembers or sections, preferably constructed of light material to enablethe clothes prop to be easily handled. The lower section 11, which ispreferably painted to protect it, has a pointed lower end 12 ofpolygonal, or other shape to engage the ground, or

other supporting surface, and the upper end of the forations and groovesare transversely alined, and they receive the inner side portions 15 andshanks 16 of a rectangular guide loop 17, which is rigid with the lowersection. The guide loop, which slidably receives the upper section 10,is constructed of a piece of stout Wire, or other suitable material,angularly bent to form the loop and the shanks 16. The inner sideportions 15 of the loop are seated in the grooves 14 to permit thesections 10 and 11 to slide on each other, and the terminals 18 of theshanks 16 are clenched or upset against the outer face of the lowersection, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The uppersection, which is provided at its upper end with a notch 19 to receive aclothes line, is secured in its adjustment by a combined clamp and guide20 of rectangular form. The sides of the combined clamp and guide 20 areprovided with depending ears 21, which are pierced by a suitable pivot22. The pivot 22 passes through the adjustable upper section near thelower end thereof, and the front 23 of the combined guide and clamp isprovided with a jaw 24, consisting of a tapered or beveled flange andbeing of a length less than the width of the lower section, so that itsterminals are spaced from the side edges or faces of the sections of theclothes prop. The jaw 24 engages the lower section at a point betweenthe side edges thereof to avoid injuring the said section, as it hasbeen found by experience that when the jaw extends entirely across thesection, the edges thereof are broken and chipped off, making theclothes prop both unsightly and more or less dangerous to handle onaccount of splinters. The depending ears permit the pivot to be arrangedin a plane considerably below the engaging edge of the jaw, so that whenthe locking device is swung upward from the position, illustrated infull lines in Fig. 2 of the drawing to that shown in Fig. 3, ample spacewill be provided to permit the upper sections to slide freely on thelower section.

The locking device is provided at the rear side with a projecting tangor shank 25, which is embedded in a wooden handle 26, which projects asufiicient distance to counter-balance the weight of the locking deviceand to afford an easy and convenient grip for adjusting the uppersection. When the handle is released, it automatically swings thelocking device into engagement with the lower section.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:-

An adjustable clothes prop comprising upper and lower sections, thelower section being provided with trans- 5 versely alined perforationsand having short transverse grooves extending outwardly from theperforations and located at the inner face of the said lower section, aguide consisting of a loop embracing the upper section and having spacedinner side portions seated in the grooves of the 10 lower section andprovided at their inner terminals with shanks passing through the saidopenings and bent at an angle to engage the lower section at the outerface thereof, and locking means for securing the upper section in itsadjustment.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I 15 have heretoaffixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

HOWARD HINTON HAAS.

Witnesses E. K. PHILLIPS, FRANK LITTLE.

